In a closely fought encounter, Pakistan beat India by three runs in the first semi-final of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup at Dhaka on Wednesday, November 20.
Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Pakistan got off to a great start with Haider Ali and Omair Yousuf going after Shivam Mavi and Saurabh Dubey from the get-go. While their run rate dipped after the first five overs, Pakistan crossed the 50 mark without losing a wicket.
It was only with the score on 91 that India got their first wicket, that of Haider Ali for a well-made 43 off 60 balls. But captain Rohail Nazir came in at number 3 and continued the good work, stitching together a 48-run stand with Omair Yousuf before the latter was dismissed by Mavi for 66.
With the game in the balance, India quickly made a couple of more inroads to tilt the tide in their favour. Pakistan lost Saud Shakeel and Nazir in succession to leave the score at 168/4 in 35 overs.
It was at that point that Imran Rafiq and Saif Badar once again put together another 51-run partnership to take the score to 219, before Rafiq was clean bowled by Mavi. With just over six overs remaining, Badar helped Pakistan finish the innings on 267/7, a competitive total on the pitch. For India, Mavi finished as the pick of the bowlers with figures of 10-1-53-2, while Dubey and Hrithik Shokeen also took two wickets apiece.
In reply, India got off to a good start as well with BR Sharath and Aryan Juyal providing the platform for a concerted chase. The duo put up 43 runs on the board before Juyal was dismissed in the seventh over by a delivery from Mohammad Hasnain. Sanvir Singh walked in to bat at number three, and he would go on to become India’s highest scorer on the day.
Singh and Sharath kept the scoreboard ticking before the latter was trapped in front of the stumps by Badar, giving the umpire no option but to raise the dreaded finger. It was then the turn of Singh and Armaan Jaffer to steady the ship from that point on, and the duo looked comfortable, and in command.
They put up a 73-run partnership and were looking certain to continue to bring India closer to the score, but the tide of the math completely changed when Singh was run-out once again by Saif Badar, who was involved in almost every significant action.
While India continued to come closer to the target, they also kept losing wickets at regular intervals, with no batsman extending their stay at the crease. Umer Khan and Amad Butt bowled good lines and lengths, which prevented the run-rate from increasing.
Armaan Jaffer was dismissed for 46 with the score on 211, and India eventually needed 8 runs to win off the last over with three wickets remaining. Amad Butt got the all-important wicket of Shivam Mavi and gave away only three runs in the over, as India finished on 264/8, just three runs short of the target.
Pakistan will now play the winner of Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the final.
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